Andrew Buller-Russ
Last year, there wasn’t any question that the Tennessee Titans were taking quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. One year later, the jury is still out on how talented the Titans’ franchise quarterback really is.
After all, some might argue that the Saints’ Tyler Shough or even the Giants’ Jaxson Dart performed better as rookies than Ward did last season. Those teams may have also put their first-year QBs in a better situation.
But it’s a new year for Ward, and he’s surrounded by a drastically improved cast of pass-catchers and even a new coaching staff. Unfortunately, a new staff also means the second-year pro is learning yet another new offense. To no surprise, there were a lot of early growing pains during the team’s mandatory minicamp.
According to Braden Gall of Paul Kuharsky.com, Ward was “really inaccurate” during recent practices.
“Practice this week has been really, really, really inaccurate for Ward. Thursday marked a third day of difficulty for the Titans QB. Ward finished 13-25 passing and failed to throw a touchdown, frequently overthrowing receivers down the field and finding it hard to connect on passes in the flat — especially check downs to backs to his right.”
It should be noted that new Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has been instructed to structure the practices in a way to “challenge” everyone. It’s safe to say that Ward has been challenged early on. How much he grows from this summer will be an important factor that will directly impact the team’s overall success.
Related: 2026 NFL QB Rankings After Aaron Rodgers Re-Joins Steelers
